I Forgive You....

One day a while back, a man, his heart heavy with grief, was walking in the
woods. As he thought about his life this day, he knew many things were not
right. He thought about those who had lied about him back when he had a
job. His thoughts turned to those who had stolen his things
and cheated him. He remembered family that had passed on. His mind turned
to the illness he had that no one could cure. His very soul was filled with
anger, resentment and frustration.

Standing there this day, searching for answers he could not find, knowing
all else had failed him, he knelt at the base of an old oak tree to seek the
one he knew would always be there. And with tears in his eyes, he prayed:
"Lord- You have done wonderful things for me in this life. You have told me
to do many things for you, and I happily obeyed. Today, you have told me to
forgive. I am sad, Lord, because I cannot. I don't know how. It is not
fair Lord. I didn't deserve these wrongs that were done against me and I
shouldn't have to forgive. As perfect as your way is Lord, this one thing I
cannot do, for I don't know how to forgive. My anger is so deep Lord, I
fear I may not hear you, but I pray that you teach me to do this one thing I
cannot do - Teach me To Forgive."

As he knelt there in the quiet shade of that old oak tree, he felt
something fall onto his shoulder. He opened his eyes. Out of the corner of
one eye, he saw something red on his shirt. As he turned to see what it was,
he became aware that where the oak tree had been was now a large square
piece of wood in the ground. He raised his head and saw two feet held to
the wood with a large spike through them. He raised his head more, and tears
came to his eyes as he saw Jesus hanging on a cross. He saw spikes in His
hands, a gash in His side, a torn and battered body, deep thorns sunk into
His head. Finally he saw the suffering and pain on His precious face. As
their eyes met, the man's tears turned to sobbing, and Jesus began to speak.

"Have you ever told a lie?" He asked? The man answered," yes, Lord."
"Have you ever been given too much change and kept it?" The man answered,
"yes. Lord."
"Have you ever taken something from work that wasn't yours?" Jesus asked?
And the man answered , "yes, Lord."
"Have you ever sworn, using my Father's name in vain?" The man sobbed,
"yes, Lord."
As Jesus asked many more times, "Have you ever"? The man's crying became
uncontrollable, for he could only answer - "yes, Lord."

Then Jesus turned His head from one side to the other, and the man felt
something fall on his other shoulder. He looked and saw that it was the
blood of Jesus. When he looked back up, his eyes met those of Jesus, and
there was a look of love the man had never seen or known before. Jesus
said, "I didn't deserve this either, but I forgive you."

This is an old story that I have heard. I don't know the author. Perhaps
it is a story passed down from Grandparent to Grandchild, or a Parent to a
Child. But it's truth is profound. The story is based on Bible scripture.
Matthew 6: 12 KJV says, "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our
debtors." Matthew 6:14-15 says, "For if ye forgive men their trespasses,
your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their
trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." A simple and
yet an unyielding law of heaven often becomes the most difficult three words
in the language of man...I forgive you....Patti

No Sense in Dressin' Up Fancy if You Ain't Taken a Bath......

I went to a Sadie Hawkins day dance in high school many years ago. For
those of you not familiar with that dance, it is where the girls get to ask
the boys out on a date. Of course now I would imagine that kind of dance is
truly obsolete because I don't think girls wait to be asked out on a date
any more. However, while at this dance, I was asked to dance by another
young man. I was shocked as he began to dance with me. It was a slow dance
and I thought that I was going to be sick. He stunk. Not just a little
body odor from forgetting to use deodorant, but reeked from not bathing
apparently for a very long time. Now a Sadie Hawkins dance is also a fancy
dress party where everyone dresses in costumes of the stereotype
"Hillbillies of yore". Legend has it that these folks were real earthy and
simple and were not know for good personal hygiene. So at the end of the
dance I told this young man that he was supposed to dress the part, not
smell the part. Of course now I would not be so callus, but unclean is
unclean.

When I was first saved I was on fire for God. The Pastor told me that even
though I had been baptized as an infant (my family was Catholic) I was to be
baptized again. This time I had accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior with a
free will and by making an adult decision. I too had to make the decision
to be water baptized. The purpose of water baptism is symbolic. You go
under the water the old person that you were prior to giving yourself to
Jesus, and come up out of the water as a new person in Him. So I was
baptized. But I missed the last part of what my Pastor told me. I failed
to come up out of the water a new person. Although God is still in the
miracle business, He gives us free will and we must put all He has for us
into practice on our own. A new person is just that, a new person. When
you accept Jesus Christ, you are to strive to become like him. That is why
you must read the Word daily and put what you read into action. It is your
guide to becoming more like Him.

I left church that Sunday after my baptism and did nothing to change my
life. The following weekend it was business as usual. I made plans with my
girlfriends to hit the bars and have a good time. My language did not
change. I still could and occasionally would swear like a Marine. (Nothing
against our Marines!) I took pride in being able to drink anyone under the
table. At work I was a hard and unyielding boss and had very little
compassion for others. I never saw two sides to any story. It was my way
or the high way so to speak. Shame, shame, shame on me.

A time later I moved and became friends with a woman that lived near me.
She had a couple of grown kids and they were a close family. She was a
little concerned about her daughter's new fiancé. They were a Catholic
family and their faith was very much a part of their lives. The young man
was not raised in a church environment. I said that I would talk to the
young man for her. I was only a couple of years into my walk with Jesus
which only consisted of making it to church on Sundays. I was proud because
even a bad hangover did not deter me from making it to church. Wow. Wasn't
I something! In fact on two occasions I actually ran into my girlfriends
kids at a club when I was really into drinking and having my normal good
time.

A couple of weeks later, we all were on our way to visit a Six Flags
together. My girlfriend gently but cleverly turned the conversation to
Christianity and the Bible. The young man began to rant. He stated that
all he could see in the bible was stories of murder, incest, adultery,
violence. I told him that man would either remain in the state described by
those stories or make the decision to turn toward Christ. The stories were
object lessons more or less to teach us the error of our ways by giving us
something to relate to. He laughed at me and said, "Oh sure, like the way I
can relate to you being a Christian. You talk a good game, but I have seen
you in the bars and you are far from what you preach. God must love you
representing Him. Yeah, after meeting you, I am going to run right out and
get saved. If you are saved honey, I already am too!" I was stunned into
absolute silence. The shame that came over me was overwhelming. This is
how I was perceived as a representative of the Kingdom of God which I was
calling my new home. I knew then that I was filthy and dressed in rags
before Christ. My own spiritual stench reached up into my own nose. It was
overpowering and vile. That day turned into the longest and most miserable
day of my life. At the end of that long day, in which the young man taunted
me constantly by referring to me as "Christian Lady", all I could do was
thank him for his profound insight. He was a little stunned by that. I
realized that I had not come up out of the water as a new person in Christ,
but I came out reeking of the world that I was supposed to have left behind.
I prayed to God for the strength to truly change. Psalm 51:10 says, "Create
in me a clean heart of God, and renew a right spirit within me." (KJV) That
was my prayer....and it was answered.

Matthew 15:8 states, "Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you saying,
'These people draw near to Me with their mouth and honor me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me.'" That was me in a nutshell. If this is
where you are, arise and become a new man in the Lord. Please come to the
realization that there is no sense in dressin' up fancy if you ain't taken a
bath....Patti

Go Ask Your Father.....

Did you ever go to your mother to ask for something? Of course you did.
Everyone knows that you start with Mom. She is usually the easy touch when
you want something. And sometimes she was so busy that you thought she was
really not paying attention to what you were asking and she would just wave
her hand and say, "Sure, sure...whatever...just be quiet, I'm busy." But
looking back now, what you were asking wasn't all that important was it?
She knew what she was doing. She was really listening. But then you would
go to her with something really big. You would wait until she was really
occupied with something like you always did and cleverly slip your request
into your babbling that always made her tell you. "Sure, Sure...whatever."
But for some unknown reason, much to your dismay, you heard her say, "Go ask
your Father." Aw nuts!! Cut down like a tree! Dad never said, "Sure,
sure. whatever." He always had questions. A lot of questions. And you
could not schmooze Dad. He picked up on that right away. If he caught you
doing that the answer was automatically "NO". Discussion over and hopes
dashed. So you were forced to go to him and just spit it out. The truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Then it would come. He would
make you dissect every word you had just told him. He would make you tell
him what was wrong with what you were asking and then he would end with
something like, "Now, looking at this from my standpoint, you really didn't
expect me to say yes did you?" Well, there you were. A tree, cut down to
the stump. What were you going to tell your friends? How would you ever
recover from being the only one of your acquaintances not being able to join
in on the fun? How could you go back to school the next day and face them.
You were now an outcast for sure. Your life was ruined.

Then you grew up, and you were the Dad. And now in your wisdom you know
that your Dad did you a favor in keeping you from things that in reality did
ruin some of your, so important at the time, friend's lives. You know what
is good and bad for your child. You have lived through everything they can
come up with or get into, or so you hope. You are a Father, not a friend.
You don't enjoy saying no, but it's for your precious child's well being
that you have to say "NO". And you know that your child will, as you did,
come to see the value of a good Father's wisdom.

But part of us will always remain a child from time to time when it comes to
making decisions. We grow up, and our parents become, with the passing
years, less and less able to give us advice. Times change and you find
yourself taking more and more care of them and advising them of what not to
do because it would be bad for them. They in turn hate getting old and do
things that hurt them and you are there to gently tell them that they need
to listen to you. Life just comes full circle doesn't it? So now who do
you turn to for help? Well, if you were lucky, God was introduced into your
life from a young age. If not, then you need to stop before you do anything
and say to yourself, "Let me pray to my Father about this." There lies the
wisdom that will make your life stay on the right path forever. God knows
what is best for you, just as you know what is best for your child and just
like your father knew what was best for you. You will find however, that we
won't always like what God has to say. Yes, sometimes God says, "NO". And
you will find it just as hard as you did when you were young to submit to
the "NO" answer. But draw from the knowledge you have gained through life
and know that if you care for your child, how much more does your heavenly
Father care for you? Matthew 7: 9-11 NKJV says, "Or what man is there among
you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks
for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to
give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father, who is in
heaven give good things to those who ask Him?" Don't go into anything
without praying on it first especially if you are excited and just positive
it is the right move for you. When our emotions are high we tend to be
impetuous and make hasty and bad decisions. Take a word of wisdom from your
mom and , "Go ask your Father"....Patti

What You Don't Know CAN Hurt You....

Actually the saying is just the opposite. What you don't know can't hurt
you. But in my walk as a Christian I have found the direct opposite to be
the truth. What you DON'T know CAN hurt you. Hosea 4:6 NKJV states, "My
people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected
knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest to Me. Because you have
forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children." Just
ponder this thought for a moment. It has been over 2000 years since Jesus
walked on this earth. And yet He lives. He not only literally lives, but
He also lives in the hearts and minds of men to this day. The Bible is
still the world wide best seller of books. God is known by all man. Access
to Him is free. Everything you need to know about Him is in the Bible.
Those too are made available at no cost if you cannot afford one. The
responsibility is yours. Your responsibility is to actually pick up the
Word (Bible) and read it. When judgment day comes, and it will come, there
will be no excuses. There will be no gray areas with God. There will only
be "yes" and "no" answers allowed. There will be no, "well, er, you see, it
was like this. I just didn't have the time." or "Well, God, I would have
looked pretty silly to my friends if I said that I believed in you or
actually let someone see me in church or reading the Bible!" or "Well, I
guess I was just misinformed. My parents told me that there was no God so I
just didn't believe in you either." or the biggest misconception of all,
"Well God, I looked at it this way. If you were the good and wonderful God
that people said you were, then I just knew that you wouldn't really send
anyone to hell so I just did the best I could. After all, no one is
perfect." The Word also says in Matthew 7: 13-14, "Enter through the
narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to
destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is
the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." The bible is your
owners manual for your spiritual and physical life. If you were given a kit
to build a bi-plane that you could actually fly in, and it came with a
manual on how to assemble it, would you throw the directions away? And if
you did get the thing together without using the manual, would you be really
confident in flying it? How about if when it was all together and you
discovered that you had one bolt left over? Gee, was it an extra bolt put
in by the manufacturer or did you leave one out? And would that one bolt
make you crash? It is your life and well-being you are talking about. You
would be wise to use the manual.

The Word also tells us that none come to the Father except through His Son,
Jesus Christ. John 14:6. You must receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior to
enter into the Kingdom of God here on earth and to enter Heaven. You must,
as a thinking adult, even if you were baptized as a child, take the stand
for Christ in your life. You must re-dedicate yourself to Him and be
Baptized again only this time you are fully aware of your commitment and
love for your Savior, Jesus Christ. When your child says "da-da"or "ma-ma"
as his first words it is cute. But when he comes to you years later after
you have helped him out of a bind, and with full consciousness says,
"thanks, I love you dad or mom." isn't that when you really understands
where he stands? Why would you give less to your Heavenly Father than your
own child would give to you?

I am not trying to scare or lecture you, but to give you life and knowledge.
Christ came that you might have life and have it more abundantly. In 2Peter
1:2 the word says, "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of
God and of Jesus our Lord."

So there you go. Now what you know will not hurt you but will guide you
into a fulfilled life here on earth and eternal life after death with the
Father. At this point some people would say, "Give it a try, what do you
have to lose?" I will be honest with you. You have your eternal life to
lose. Get a Bible and read it. Give your life to Jesus today. Don't stay
in the dark because what you don't know CAN hurt you....Patti

Fifty-Fifty Is Not Enough!....

I went to a friends wedding once and heard the Pastor tell the couple that
they should both give fifty percent because marriage, as life, was a
fifty-fifty proposition. He told them that if each of them was to give
fifty percent then they would be receiving one hundred percent. I am not a
genius, but that made no sense to me. Why would you only want to give
someone you truly loved and adored only fifty percent of yourself? That
would be like going to the store and buying fifty percent of a car. Or
fifty percent of a house. Or fifty percent of an apple. No...fifty percent
makes no sense to me. I love my husband and I always try to give him one
hundred percent. And that means the best I can give him. And when we have
a disagreement, I really make sure that he gets one hundred percent of what
is on my mind!

In a marriage, when you have two different personalities living under the
same roof, each is going to have their own opinions, and their own way of
doing things. No one is perfect and mistakes will be made and feelings will
be hurt. When this happens, the feelings of the one you love, honor, and
respect should take priority over any stand you might have on a situation.
Compromises can be struck and a meeting in the middle of the road is
possible without becoming cruel, overpowering and controlling. Respect
should always proceed anything that is spoken. One hundred percent respect
keeps peace and love one hundred percent above any situation that may come
into your life. James 5:16 KJV says to "confess your fault one to another
and pray one for another that ye may be healed." However, the flesh is very
weak and it can easily give way to anger and blow the most trivial
disagreement into a major problem if you allow it. We have all come to this
point in our relationships. However, I have found in these times, it is
wise to stop before any real damage control is needed and to call upon the
Lord for help. And remember that your respect for your spouse is in
actuality respect for yourself because the Bible tells us that when we
marry, we become one. (Gen 2:24, Matt 19:5,Mark 10:8, Ephesians 5:31 NKJV)
One person can not be better than himself. So treat your spouse as you
treat yourself.

No matter who you are in love with, the love you have for that person should
never be allowed to be greater than the love you have for Christ. If your
life is dedicated to Him one hundred percent, then He in return will dwell
in your relationship and give you one hundred percent peace and calm with
your spouse. You both can turn to the other in times of strife and ask
Jesus to direct your path to an equitable decision. In this way the enemy
can never work on fifty percent of the marriage to tear it apart.

Don't ever settle for fifty percent in your marriage. Don't get into a
marriage where only fifty percent of you is dedicated to Christ. Don't be
unequally yoked. Find someone who loves the Lord and has dedicated his or
her life to Him as your life partner. Now you are on the right track to a
one hundred percent relationship. You both love God above all else even
each other. You will have Him as a counselor in times of turmoil. And you
will have blocked the devil from your relationship one hundred percent. You
will both have a one hundred percent wonderful marriage all the time. Never
settle for fifty percent because fifty-fifty is not enough.....Patti

Top Ten Predictions For 2007...

1. The Bible will still have the answers.

2. Prayer will still work.

3. The Holy Spirit will still move.

4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.

5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.

6. There will still be singing of praise.

7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.

8. There will still be room at the Cross.

9. Jesus will still love you.

10. Jesus will still save the lost.

God whispers in your soul and speaks to your mind.

Sometimes when you don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick
at you.

It's your choice: Listen to the whisper, or wait for the brick.

Author Unknown

I Can't Do Anything except through Christ....

I was in charge of quite a large office staff once upon a time. During the
last quarter of the year the volume of work was greater than at any time of
the year. I watched the first year as my staff and I worked as others
before us had worked for years. The way that the paperwork was handled was
antiquated and the work flow was awkward. I stayed late one night and
devised a way for the work to get done quicker and more efficiently. The
next day I had a meeting with my staff and put the new game plan into
effect. We all loved it. Everyone had input and some of my ideas were
tweaked to make things flow even better. None the less, even with the new
work flow in place, we had an enormous work load. I had an assistant who
was very close to me and she worked so hard and never complained about
overtime. She was a young single mom and I wanted her to make the
additional money. I supplied the lunches during that time, and also dinner
when it was necessary for us to work at night, which became more and more
necessary as the year's end approached. Just before the holidays, I came
down with the flu. I worked sick one day and could barely make it through
the day...I left early leaving my assistant in charge. I was out for a
week. My superior called and asked if he needed to send someone to help in
the office when I was out and I assured him that I had equipped my assistant
to do anything in the office and that my staff would be fine. The end of
the year came and all the work had been done ahead of schedule and we were
not worn completely to the bone.

So there we all were sitting at the Holiday banquet thrown by the company.
We mingled and chatted with everyone there. My assistant brought her new
boyfriend and her mom and dad, which struck me just a little odd, but then I
forgot about it and went back to chatting. Finally we all sat down and had
a fabulous meal. The company always spared no expense at the holidays.
Then it was time for the speeches that always accompany company functions.
The speeches were dry as usual and we were all attentive, as usual. But
then they announced that an "Employee of the Year Award" had been created
this year because of the performance of our district and our office in
particular. The Vice President began to speak and one of my staff leaned
over to me and said, "You're not going to like what you hear." I looked at
her and frowned. What had she meant by that? I found out almost
immediately. The Vice President said that someone in our office had taken
the initiative to realize that the "old way" was not a "good way" and had
single handedly come up with the "best way" of streamlining the office and
the work flow and therefore making our office the top producer for the year
in the entire company. Everyone clapped and turned to look toward our
table. I humbly looked down at my plate and blushed. You can not imagine
my surprise when they gave the award to my assistant! That explained why
she had brought her entire family to the banquet! Later I found out that
when I was out sick, she had called the head office for some information and
the President got on the phone to comment on the good numbers he was seeing
and my assistant had told him how she had just turned the office around.
She not only got the award, but she got a raise and one other thing that I
was happy about, and that was a transfer to another office where she would
take over as manager. I was stunned at how she never blinked an eye. She
never apologized. She came back to the office that following Monday just
glowing and going on and on about the banquet. One of the ladies turned on
her and said that I had come up with those ideas and she knew it. She
smiled at the woman and calmly asked, "Is that what she told you?". I just
shook my head and told everyone it was time to get back to work. I did not
let on, but I was hurt. Very hurt. I mean, you see these kind of things in
the movies and on TV, but when it happens in real life it seems surreal. I
had never felt so betrayed.

I got to thinking about this the other day and then I thought of how
wonderful I was because I had never done something like that to anyone. But
then as I thought a little more...I realized that I had done it and that I
still do it a lot! I do it to my Heavenly Father! You know every time that
we boast and brag about something that we accomplish and take all the praise
and glory, we act just like that little assistant. We are so easily caught
up in Pride. None of us does a good or better or best job without the
input, blessing and grace of our Heavenly Father. He and He alone is the
author of all our successes. He has given each one of us all our talents
and abilities to do certain tasks. To accomplish certain feats that others
cannot perform. And yet how many times do we humble ourselves and thank God
for the "great idea", or the "job well done", or the "promotion"? When you
start thinking you're all that, you are on dangerous ground. Please know
that God is willing to go to any lengths to provide for, bless, and protect
His children. However, like a human parent, if He sees that we are getting
too full of ourselves, He is more than willing to hand out attitude
adjustments by allowing correction to enter into our lives. And the degree
to which He will hand out correction will be in line with the degree of
PRIDE in our lives. In case you are wondering what ever became of my
little assistant...she was fired almost a year to the day later. Did I have
anything to do with it? No. I simply turned her over to God for correction
and went on with my life. You see...she not only lied to the company, but
she lied to herself. She did not have the ability to do the things that she
took credit for. No talent equals no job.

In Deuteronomy 8:18 NKJV it states, "But remember the Lord your God, for it
is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth." And in Deut 8:17-20 NKJV
it states, "If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods
(including yourself, your job, money or position etc.) and worship and bow
down to them, I testify against you, you will truly be destroyed. Like the
nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not
obeying the Lord your God." Fair warning to all. Philippians 4:13 NKJV
states, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Better
yet, say it this way....I Can't do anything except through Christ....Patti

John 3:16

This was sent to me by my dear sister in Christ, Carol Manzo. I hope that
you enjoy it as much as I did.

A little boy was selling newspapers on the corner, the people were in and
out of the cold.
The little boy was so cold that he wasn't trying to sell many papers.
He walked up to a policeman and said, "Mister, you wouldn't happen to know
where a poor boy could find a warm place to sleep
tonight would you?
You see, I sleep in a box up around the corner there and down the alley and
it's awful cold in there for tonight.
Sure would be nice to have a warm place to stay."
The policeman looked down at t he little boy and said, "You go down the
street to that big white house and you knock on the door.
When they come out the door you just say John 3:16, and they will let you
in." So he did. He walked up the steps and knocked on
the door, and a lady answered. He looked up and said, "John 3:16." The lady
said, "Come on in, Son."

She took him in and she sat him down in a split bottom rocker in front of a
great big old fireplace, and she went off.
The boy sat there for a while and thought to himself:

John 3:16...I don't understand it, but it sure makes a cold boy warm.

Later she came back and asked him "Are you hungry?"
He said, "Well, just a little. I haven't eaten in a couple of days, and I
guess I could stand a little bit of food,"
The lady took him in the kitchen and sat him down to a table full of
wonderful food. He ate and ate until he couldn't
eat any more. Then he thought to himself:

John :16...Boy, I sure don't understand it but it sure makes a hungry boy
full.

She took him upstairs to a bathroom to a huge bath tub filled with warm
water, and he sat there and soaked for a while.
As he soaked, he thought to himself:

John 3:16...I sure don't understand it, but it sure makes a dirty boy clean.

You know, I've not had a bath, a real bath, in my whole life. The only bath
I ever had was when I stood in front of that big
old fire hydrant as they flushed it out. The lady came in and got him. She
took him to a room, tucked him into a big old
feather bed, pulled the covers up around his neck, kissed him goodnight and
turned out the lights. As he lay in the darkness
and looked out the window at the snow coming down on that cold night, he
thought to himself:

John 3:16...I don't understand it but it sure makes a tired boy rested.

The next morning the lady came back up and took him down again to that same
big table full of food. After he ate,
she took him back to that same big old split bottom rocker in front of the
fireplace and picked up a big old Bible.
She sat down in front of him and looked into his young face.

"Do you understand John 3:16?" she asked gently.

He replied, "No, Ma'am, I don't. The first time I ever heard it was last
night when the policeman told me to use it,"
She opened the Bible to John 3:16 and began to explain to him about Jesus.

Right there, in front of that big old fireplace, he gave his heart and life
to Jesus. He sat there and thought:

John 3:16 ... I don't understand it, but it sure makes a lost boy feel safe.

You know, I have to confess I don't understand it either, how God was
willing to send His Son to die for me,
and how Jesus would agree to do such a thing. I don't understand the agony
of the Father and every angel in heaven
as they watched Jesus suffer and die. I don't understand the intense love
for ME that kept Jesus on the cross till the end.

John 3:16 ...I don't understand it, but it sure does make life worth living.

John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Once Upon a Time....

There once was a man who had nothing for his family to eat.

He had an old rifle and three bullets. So, he decided that he would go

out hunting and kill some wild game for dinner.

As he went down the road, he saw a rabbit. He shot at the rabbit and missed
it.

The rabbit ran away.

Then he saw a squirrel and fired a shot at the squirrel and missed it.

The squirrel disappeared into a hole in a cottonwood tree.

As he went further, he saw a large wild "Tom" turkey in the tree, but

he had only one bullet remaining.

A voice spoke to him and said, "Pray first, aim high and stay focused."

However, at the same time, he saw a deer which was a better kill.

He brought the gun down and aimed at the deer. But, then he saw a

rattlesnake between his legs about to bite him, so he naturally brought

the gun down further to shoot the rattlesnake.

Still, the voice said again to him, "I said, Pray, Aim high and Stay
focused."

So, the man decided to listen to the voice which the man knew must be God's.

He prayed, then aimed the gun high up in the tree and shot the wild turkey.

The bullet bounced off the turkey and killed the deer.

And, when the gun had gone off, it knocked him into a pond.

When he stood up to look around, he had fish in all his pockets, a

dead deer and a dead turkey to eat for his family.

The snake (Satan) was dead simply because the man listened to God.

Moral of the story:

Pray first before you do anything, Aim and shoot high in your goals,

and stay focused on God.

Never let others discourage you concerning your past. The past is

exactly that, "the past."

Live every day one day at a time and remember that only God knows our

future . Do not look to man for your blessings, but look to the doors that
only

He has prepared in advance for you in your favor.

Wait, be still and patient: keep God first and everything else will

follow. The Bible says, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness

all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33 NKJV)

(Psalm 46:10 NKJV) says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be
exalted

Among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

I heard this and decided to pass it along to you and have

added scripture to reinforce the wisdom in this little story....Patti

It's Just Not About You!....

"Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her
sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and
wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the
sisters sent to Him saying, 'Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.' When
Jesus heard that, He said, 'This sickness is not unto death, but for the
glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.' Now Jesus
loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick,
He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Then after this he said
to the disciples, 'Let us go to Judea again.'"(John 11: 1-7 NKJV)

I was astounded the first time I read this scripture! Jesus says that he
loved these people and then He tells His disciples that he is just going to
stay where He is for a couple of days. Wow, now that's being cool and
insensitive! How could He do that? And when Jesus did arrive, Lazarus was
dead and Martha came up to him and pretty much said the same thing I just
did. But Martha and I were only looking at it from our side. Ever hear the
expression, "There are always two sides to every story"? What Jesus did was
wrapped in the very Christian principles that He was sent here to teach us
all. He was about His Father's business. Remember He said in the scripture
that I gave you that this entire event was for "the glory of God, so that
the Son of God may be glorified through it"? Let's look at this a little
closer.

Jesus came that all the people of that time and we "Might have life and have
it more abundently".(John 10:10 NKJV) Jesus, during His time on earth,
especially during the time of His ministry, was always telling everyone that
He was about His Father's business. Everything that Jesus did was to
glorify the Father and not Himself. And yet some people of that time,
especially the Scribes and Pharisees, could not see past the man and their
own agenda no matter what Jesus said or did. He spoke of love and of
compassion and how to lead a life pleasing to the Father. He tried to show
the love and almighty power of the Father through the miracles that God
performed through Him. He tried to point out that earth was created for a
purpose. God had created it to be the Kingdom of Heaven extended to earth.
He was here to be the final sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin forever.
He was here to breach the gap between man and his creator God, that had
occurred with the fall of Adam and Eve. He came so that each and every one
of them and we could speak directly to the Father again without
bloodletting. He came so that His blood would be the final and most
powerful sacrifice of blood ever. When Jesus performed miracles, it was by
the power of God working through Him. And Jesus always gave glory to the
Father for the miracles. And yet the Scribes and Pharisees arranged to
have Him put to death because they feared that the changes that Jesus was
talking about would put them out of business. And they were jealous that
the God that they had served and spoken of for all their lives was not
working through them. They knew that they had control over the people by
using the Word of God as a means of control. They became drunk with their
own power and God had become a means to an end for them. The people of that
time were under Roman rule. And they had been excited at first by the
coming of the long awaited Messiah because they thought that He had come to
help them rise up and free them from their oppressors. They missed the
point of His coming entirely. They missed the fact that He had come to
assure their "eternal" well being and not their current physical lives that
were temporary. And yet they would have had that also, if they had only
embraced His teachings and brought the power of heaven to earth and took
authority over the spiritual realm that was the basis for their oppression.
All of Jesus' parables and teachings spoke of this and yet they continued to
miss the point as we still do to this day. So the cry of the people was
added to that of the Scribes and the Pharisees as they called for the death
sentence for Christ. All the Scribes and Pharisees could see was their job
security and all the people could see was their oppression. Martha missed
the point too. If Jesus had showed up when she wanted Him to and Lazarus
had not died, they would have credited Jesus' presence for his recovery.
However, when Lazarus was brought back to life by the only One who had
control over death, our Father God, then only He would be glorified. And in
turn Jesus would be glorified by God's working through Him. And that is
exactly what Jesus said. He could not cure nor raise Lazarus from the grave
without the power and grace of the Father. However all that Martha knew was
that she wanted her brother back. She was close to Jesus, and she loved Him
like a brother and yet she just missed the point and purpose of His life
here on earth.

The biggest miracle that Jesus performed while here on earth was to die.
His entire life was an explanation for why He came for us. And yet to this
very day so many are still missing the point. We can just go through life
making it all about the flesh and our needs and continue to fall short of
purpose we were created for. By Jesus' death and resurrection we have
authority over the Kingdom of Heaven right here on earth. We have authority
through Christ Jesus over the enemy. We have a spiritual connection with
our Heavenly Father and all the power that it provides if we would only tap
into it. And the purpose of our lives here is to follow in the footsteps of
our Savior, Jesus Christ. We are to strive to be like Him so we can lead
others back to the Father through His precious blood sacrifice. We must be
about our Father's business and not our own. So every morning get up and
thank Him for another day and let Him know that you realize what your other
job, your most important job, is here on earth. Thank Him for your
salvation through the sacrifice of His only and precious Son. And let Him
know that you now realize that it's just not about YOU.....Patti

As Simple as Black and White....

I don't know who wrote this but it has been on the internet and so I would
imagine it is okay to show it here. I imagine too that it was actually
written by someone over 50 and so they will be flattered and not sue me.
For those of you who are under fifty you could learn quite a bit from this
wisdom if you read between the lines. There were a lot of Bible principles
tucked in our lives back then. Can you find them? Try and then write them
down and take a try at living by them yourselves. You will create a whole
new, less stressful, and less frightening world for yourselves and your
children. Then you can save about $500 a month by clearing out your's and
your children's medicine cabinets. Try it and you will find out that life
led according to God's word is as simple as black and white.....Patti

The truth and nothing but.........

Black and White
(Under age 40? Read and learn.)

You could hardly see for all the snow,
Spread the rabbit ears as far as they go.
Pull a chair up to the TV set,
"Good Night, David. Good Night, Chet."
Depending on the channel you tuned,
You got Rob and Laura - or Ward and June.
It felt so good. It felt so right.
Life looked better in black and white.

I Love Lucy, The Real McCoy's,
Dennis the Menace, the Cleaver boys,
Rawhide, Gunsmoke, Wagon Train,
Superman, Jimmy and Lois Lane .
Father Knows Best, Patty Duke,
Rin Tin Tin and Lassie too,
Donna Reed on Thursday night! --
Life looked better in black and white.
I want to go back to black and white.
Everything always turned out right.
Simple people, simple lives.
Good guys always won the fights.
Now nothing is the way it seems,
In living color on the TV screen.
Too many murders, too many fights,
I want to go back to black and white.
In God they trusted, alone in bed, they slept,
A promise made was a promise kept.
They never cussed or broke their vows.
They'd never make the network now.
But if I could, I'd rather be
In a TV town in '53.
It felt so good. It felt so right.
Life looked better in black and white.
I'd trade all the channels on the satellite,
If I could just turn back the clock tonight
To when everybody knew wrong from right.
Life was better in black and white!

Another Goody For The Old-timers

My Mom used to cut chicken, chop eggs and spread mayo on the same cutting
board with the same knife and no bleach, but we didn't seem to get food
poisoning.

My Mom used to defrost hamburger on the counter AND I used to eat it raw
sometimes, too. Our school sandwiches were wrapped in wax paper in a brown
paper bag, not in ice pack coolers, but I can't remember getting ecoli.
Almost all of us would have rather gone swimming in the lake instead of a
pristine pool (talk about boring), no beach closures then.

The term cell phone would have conjured up a phone in a jail cell, and a
pager was the school PA system.

W e all took gym, not PE... and risked permanent injury with a pair of high
top Keds (only worn in gym) instead of having cross-training athletic shoes
with air cushion soles and built in light reflectors. I can't recall any
injuries but they must have happened because they tell us how much safer we
are now..

Flunking gym was not an option...even for stupid kids! I guess PE must be
much harder than gym.

Speaking of school , we all sang the national anthem, and staying in
detention after school caught all sorts of negative attention.

We must have had horribly damaged psyches. What an archaic health system we
had then. Remember school nurses? Ours wore a hat and everything.

I thought that I was supposed to accomplish something before I was allowed
to be proud of myself.

I just can't recall how bored we were without computers, Play Station,
Nintendo, X-box or 270 digital TV cable stations.

Oh yeah... and where was the Benadryl and sterilization kit when I got that
bee sting? I could have been killed!

We played 'king of the hill' on piles of gravel left on vacant construction
sites, and when we got hurt, Mom pulled out the 48-cent bottle of
Mercurochrome (kids liked it better because it didn't sting like iodine did)
and then we got our butt spanked.

Now it's a trip to the emergency room, followed by a 10-day dose of a $49
bottle of antibiotics, and then Mom calls the attorney to sue the contractor
for leaving a horribly vicious pile of gravel where it was such a threat.

We didn't act up at the neighbor's house either because if we did, we got
our butt spanked there and then we got butt spanked again when we got home.

I recall Donny Reynolds from next door coming over and doing his tricks on
the front stoop, just before he fell off. Little did his Mom know that she
could have owned our house. Instead, she picked him up and swatted him for
being such a goof. It was a neighborhood run amuck.

To top it off, not a single person I knew had ever been told that they were
from a dysfunctional family How could we possibly have known that?

We needed to get into group therapy and anger management classes? We were
obviously so duped by so many societal ills, that we didn't even notice that
the entire country wasn't taking Prozac! How did we ever survive?

Oh No! I Gave Birth to Barney Fife!

Did you know that most mothers know their child when it is born? Oh, they
might not know what he looks like, but they know their little habits long
before they are born. I used to know when my baby had hick-ups. When he
would stretch and I could see a little hand or foot distorting the shape of
my tummy, I used to give it a tickle and watch the little limb disappear. I
even used to say, "Tickle, tickle" and laugh out loud at the response of my
baby. I used to sit in the rocking chair in the nursery before my baby was
born and hold my tummy, which was my baby, and rock gently back and forth
while singing lullabies and the baby would rest. All the motion would cease
and we would both rest together. And when my baby became very active I
would gently pat my tummy as if to say, "There, there, calm down now." I
knew everything about my baby when he was born except what he looked like
and that was a surprise. Actually it was a shock. When he was first given
to me he looked like a shrunken Barney Fife!!! "Oh no...I've given birth to
Barney Fife!". All the nurses laughed but I really cried. I waited nine
months for my beautiful baby and now this! They assured me that the baby
had been through quite a trauma being born and when I saw him later I would
know that I had not given birth to Barney! They were right....he was so
beautiful. And as I spoke, and caressed him, even though he could not see
yet, he somehow seemed to search for my face because he had heard my voice
so much over the months in the womb. Oh how I rejoiced at his arrival. We
had a party and everyone came to see the new baby. It was a Birthday...it
was a homecoming all wrapped into one.

It must be the same with God and us. He gives us life even though we are
separate from Him because of original sin. We hear His voice even though we
cannot see him and we strive to get back in contact with Him. He knows our
habits and he watches us stretch and grow. He sees our "hick-ups" and
restlessness with life. He is always there to comfort us during these
times. We learn about Him, and we long to be with Him. He directs our
paths so we can grow straight and strong. (Proverbs 3:6 NKJV "In all your
ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path.") And if we have
accepted His son, Jesus Christ, when we go through our next birthing,
through death, into heaven, we will finally see His face! He will rejoice
as will all heaven and He will embrace us and tell us "Well done good and
faithful servent".(Matthew 25:21) Oh how I long to hear those words from my
Father in person.

Let us try to seek Him everyday and in every way. Let's learn about Him
through the Word. Let us try and truly get to know Him before we go home.
Let's hope to never grieve God. Let's hope we never drive Him to say..."Oh
no...I gave birth to Barney Fife!....Patti

It's No Longer Business as Usual....

Welcome 2007. This year is not going to be simply business as usual. God
is speaking to the prophets of the church. He is saying much and we would
be wise to listen to the word of God. Prophets you ask? Yes. God still
has His prophets in this day in age.

http://www.elijahlist.com/ will be a
blessing to you all. There are many, many Prophets who give you God's word
throughout the year. This year is very important and you need to be aware
of what God is saying. In a nutshell, God is telling us that there will be
a shaking. Not only of the earth, but also of our personal lives and of the
churches. If you are one that believes in Mother Nature, then you surely
will hear her sing this year. However, I would suggest that you quit
speaking with and being at one with a giant ball of dirt and rock and
instead you become one with God through accepting His most precious Son,
Jesus Christ this year. If you are one with the Father, you will not be
shaken with the shaking that is to come this year.

In 1 Peter 1:13-16 NKJV it says, "Therefore gird your minds for action, keep
sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you
at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children do not be conformed
to the former lusts which were yours in ignorance, but like the Holy One who
called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior, because it is
written, "You shall be holy for I am holy'." And in Romans 14: 17 NKJV it
says, "For the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness
and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."

When we were small children our parents would tell us to not climb trees.
It seemed to us that they simply were trying to keep us from having fun.
But in their wisdom they knew that climbing could result in a fall that
could harm or even kill us. Some of us listened even if we walked away
mumbling , "they try to ruin all my fun all the time and I am never going to
speak to them again and then they will be sorry!". But some thought in
their foolishness that they knew better than their parents and disobeyed and
climbed even higher in the trees. Some climbed and came down again safely
just to meet the business end of their mother's wooden spoon. Sigh, I am of
course talking about the days when the words of wisdom from the Bible
(Proverbs 13: 24 NKJV which says, "He who spares his rod hates his son, but
he who loves him disciplines him promptly.") were used. And of course there
were those who climbed, fell, and were guests in the emergency room at their
local hospital. Some did die from a terrible fall. However, we are no
longer children. And whether we learned gently from our parents wisdom, or
we had to learn our lessons the hard way, we have learned none the less.
Please use the wisdom of the ages to realize that there is a God and He sent
His Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us. We don't have to face the "wooden
spoon", we only have to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and we are a
child of the living God and he will spare His children from the lessons that
He is about to teach the rest of the lost world. Don't learn the hard way.
Don't continue the bad habits of your youth. Come to Jesus now and enjoy
the peace and peace of mind that goes with being a child of THE living God.
I am not saying that we will not have trials in our life, but we will be
able to take them to the Father through the blood of Jesus for resolution.
He will never leave our side. Hebrews 13:25 NKJV says, "Let your conduct be
without covetousness; be content with such things as you have for He Himself
has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you'."

This year a shaking will begin. Do not continue to be disobedient and climb
those tall trees because you will be shaken lose and surely fall to your
doom. Listen to the advice of those that are walking with God. Listen to
their wisdom as an adult and not as a silly child any longer. Accept Jesus
as your Lord and Savior today. Go to the Salvation page on this web site
and say the prayer of salvation now and do not put it off any longer. You
have heard the voice of God or you would not be here reading this now. I
assure you my dear friend that it will no longer be "Business as
usual"....Patti

The Twilight Zone....

The other night my husband and I were flipping through the channels. We
had retired for the evening and were just trying to unwind a little before
sleep. Suddenly there appeared a very young William Shatner on the screen.
He has been quite the figure on television for the Baby Boomer generation so
we decided to pause our search for a few minutes to see what he was up to.
It was a rare time when he was not dressed in his Star Fleet uniform and
commanding the Enterprise. As we watched it appeared that he and his fiancé
were in route to the town where he was to interview for a better position
with the company he was with. They would have to move to that town if the
promotion came through and they were going to look around before the
interview. They had stopped in a little town along the way and had gone
into this benign looking little café for a bite to eat. They sat at a booth
and on the wall, instead of one of those mini juke boxes, hung a box with
the bobble head of the devil. One of the devils eyes was closed in a wink
as if to tell you that he knew something that you should know. And there
was a slot that said that if you put in a penny you could get your future.
Well, old Bill put in the first penny and asked if he was truly going to get
his promotion. The machine spit out a little piece of paper that assured
him he would. He put in another penny and asked if they would be happy
living in the new town. Again the answer was what they wanted to hear.
Bill became obsessed. Penney after penny went into the machine. He was
becoming a firm believer in the "devil" machine and his girlfriend was
becoming very upset. He said that he wanted to just put in one more penny
before they left. He asked the devil machine if they left by 3:00 could
they make good time to the town they were going to. The machine spit out
the word "danger". Well, after about another dime's worth of questions,
Bill had determined that if they were to leave the town they were in before
three, they would be in danger. So now we watch Bill staring at the clock,
and his girlfriend pacing and wringing her hands. She finally says that
enough is enough and she is not going to let some silly machine control her
and that she wants to leave right now. Bill reluctantly agrees and they
leave at three minutes to three. Of course there is the ominous music in
the background now as they exit the café. As they are walking across the
street to their car a truck comes out of no where and Bill has to grab his
girlfriend and pull her out of the way. Now old Bill is full of himself and
the "devil" machine and tells her that he must go back in and ask some more
questions if only to prove to her that this is real. He starts putting
coins into the machine and the little bobble head starts bouncing happily.
Bill has become obsessed with the machine and his girlfriend becomes very
frightened and she tells Bill that he needs to wake up and that she is
leaving with or without him and that superstition is not the answer it is a
trap. Of course he sees her way and they drive away from the little town
together. Then you see a couple enter the café. They head right to the
booth that was previously occupied by Bill and his fiancé. This couple
looks worn down and tired and they look like they have been wearing the same
clothes for years. They sit down and look at the devil and put in their
penny and ask if they will ever be able to leave this town. Is there any
way out? Are they stuck there forever? Then the music...do do do do, do do
do do and you know that they are stuck in the "Twilight Zone". "The End"
comes up on the screen.

How many of you are stuck in the Twilight Zone? How many of you are
checking your Horoscope every morning on the internet or in the newspaper
before you will even leave the house? How many of you have gone to Psychic
readers? How many of you rely on the direction and opinions of others to
get through life? If you do these things, you too are in the Twilight Zone
and you are in trouble.

God created you live and function in this world and to stay in contact with
Him. He is your heavenly Father and everything you need IS provided by Him
and Him alone. The stars don't talk. Humans make you think that they talk
because they do all the talking for them. No man knows the future. Trust
me. If anyone really could predict the future, he or she would be locked up
in some underground bunker for safe keeping and there would only be one
country in charge of everything. You were created with free will. If you
knew everything, would you really have free will? Or would you be bound by
what was told to you like old Bill in the story I just told you. He was
becoming a prisoner of what was told to him and therefore locked into that
machine and that little town. He rose above the temptation and desire to
know everything and left. But the other couple became prisoner's of the
little town where the machine that told their future was. Their lives
ended there totally unfulfilled and void of any promise.

We have an enemy who wants to keep us from what God has created us for and
from all of God's blessings. The machine in the story had the head of the
devil on the top of it and rightfully so. How many times out of fear and
indecision have you listened to the whisperings of the devil instead of
seeking your heavenly Father for the answer? The Bible instructs us to "Be
anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication, with
thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God, and the peace that
surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ
Jesus. (Philippians 4:6 NKJV) and to "Trust in the Lord with all your hearts
and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He shall direct your paths." (Proverbs 3: 5-6 NKJV) If you will always
be faithful to seek God, I guarantee that you will never find yourself in
the Twilight Zone. Do do do do, do do do do....Patti

No Need to Doubt God's Word....

Ahhhh. Another year. Another clean slate. Each year is a new beginning.
This year try staying in the word and will of God and you will have joy and
peace and success you have never know possible. (Philippians 4:7 KJV..."And
the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts
and minds through Christ Jesus.") All you have to do is trust totally in
your Heavenly Father. DO NOT DOUBT your God. For if you DOUBT you will
find that God will withhold all his promises from you because you are double
minded. Let not one of us carry DOUBT into 2007.

Here is some wisdom from the Word that will help you receive the promises
of God and reject DOUBT....James 1: 2-7 NKJV..."My brethren, count it all
joy when you fall into various trials knowing that the testing of your faith
produces patience. But let patience have it's perfect work, that you may be
perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him
ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach and it will be
given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no DOUBTing, for he who DOUBTs
is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that
man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a
double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

God wants you to have ASSURANCE in 2007. 1 Peter 2:9 NKJV..."But you are a
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special
people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of
darkness into His marvelous light."

God wants you to have His LOVE in 2007. John 14: 27 NKJV..."He who has my
commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me
will be loved by My Father and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."

God wants you to have PEACE in 2007. John 16:33 NKJV..."These things I have
spoken to you that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have
tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

God wants you to have His PROTECTION in 2007. James 4:7..."Therefore submit
to God. Resist the devil and he must flee from you."

God want you to have HOPE in 2007. Romans 5:5 NKJV..."Now hope does not
disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the
Holy Spirit who was given to us.

These are only a few promises of our Heavenly Father. And there is no need
to doubt God's word because, Numbers 23:19 NIV states, "God is not a man,
that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should change His mind. Does
He speak and then not act? Does He promise and then not fulfill?" Go
boldly into 2007 knowing your are safe in the arms of the only one that does
not lie and that has your best interests at heart, your Heavenly Father.
Make a resolution to get to know Him better this year....Patti

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!...

May those who know Him richly grow in Him this new year.

For those who do not know Him, I pray that you accept Him as your Lord and
Savior this year.

And to all, God's richest blessings be upon you this year.

In His Service and with love for you all.....Patti